Last week, Justice John Paul Stevens announced that he is retiring. This will be the second Supreme Court Justice President Obama will pick and have confirmed in his capacity as president. This is a big deal. He’s been given the opportunity to have another hand in shaping the US Supreme Court. These lifetime appointments are not decided lightly. We are looking at a time in history that is very specific and very telling. Obama won’t just be looking at former federal judges this time around, but also politicians and individuals with a broad sense of legal and political expertise. These factors all weigh heavily on his mind and the minds of staff members who have been tasked with researching every nook and cranny of prospective nominees lives.

My personal pick is Hillary Clinton. I have resigned the idea to being nothing more than wishful thinking because for one, I don’t believe Hillary, in a million years, would want to spend the rest of her legislative life stuck in chambers while laboring over obscure opinions about civil law and procedure.

The role of a Supreme Court justice is one of the most isolated positions in Washington. For that reason, I believe Hillary would shine if given the opportunity. If there is one thing I believe without question with regard to Mrs. Clinton, it’s that she thrives on being involved in the political process. She is great at her job and doesn’t pull punches, which makes her either hated or loved as a politician. Despite the controversy surrounding her name alone, the people of New York liked what she did as Senator. This is even more than I can say for President Obama during his short stint as a Illinois senator.

In any case, I think she’d be superb, but bored out of her mind. If she were still a senator I could imagine her being even more effective as Senate Majority Leader. She is bright, intelligent, articulate, displays a keen sense of intellect and she is well suited to legislating.

She’s also said that she would not run for president again, nor would she serve another term as Secretary of State; a job she says is 24-7 and physically taxing.

She has faced more criticism as a female politician than any other I can recently recall. Despite it, the Clinton machine retains its relevance in Washington as she stays at the top of her game. Republican attacks directed against her during the presidential primary, and the subsequent way she handled them showed me that she was the woman for the job. No matter what you throw at her, she will finish the job. Politics is a dirty game, but President Obama, in appointing her a Secretary of State, showed that he respected her diplomatic abilities and her determination, which is strong enough to move mountains.

A Supreme Court nomination would put Hillary in queue to hold a position that fewer than 50 people in our history have ever held. But let’s face facts. She will never be considered a Supreme Court justice nominee. And there’s only one job I would have loved to see her shine at before she retired. That is the first woman President of the United States of America. Whether she would make a good justice or not is certainly up for debate. What I do not find debatable in any sense what so ever is whether or not she would be effective at her duty as public servant. To that end, I hold that not only is she in effective in her current, diplomatic capacity, but her legislative prowess would remain undeterred in any other.

But, alas, my wishful thinking can perhaps go on to rule another election in another lifetime. Earlier today the White House confirmed that Hillary will not be considered for Supreme Court justice.